On Thursday, November 19, please join CSIS and partners in commemorating World Toilet Day. While many people who have access to a toilet might consider this a humorous concept, the global sanitation crisis necessitates that a spotlight be shined on both the severity of the problem and the promising solutions. Join us on the lawn of the United States Capitol to learn about, and give voice to, the 2.5 billion people who lack access to a toilet and the 1.8 million people who die annually as a result.

GM is planning on hiring more workers to boost output, but those jobs won't be created in the Rust Belt. Instead, GM will be hiring an additional 600 workers in Brazil to help boost output in a country that's seen tremendous auto market growth in recent years.

A few weeks ago Russia announced the suspension of its bid to join the WTO and now intends to file a collective membership application as a customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus. There are multiple reasons why Russia should seek to join the WTO as soon as possible, but there are two reasons why it is not a high time to do so. Namely, the financial crisis and Russia’s sphere of influence.

This morning, one of President Obama's biggest aficionados will be visiting Washington. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a leader who describes Mr. Obama as "young and handsome, [with] a good tan,” will most likely be discussing the global recession in the lead up to next month's G8 summit.

Recently I listened as Salar Ghahramani explained the state of the world's economy to a group of interns and young professionals at CSIS. As a listened, I was reminded of the time value of money. With any long range scenario, the best time to make a correction would be yesterday (and the worst time would be tomorrow). Mr.

Discussions about investing in the future are increasingly popular with the passage of the economic stimulus package. Much of those discussions have focused on investments in green technologies. The argument goes that investments made now by the United States to combat global warming can save money later.

Perhaps the most anachronistic example of U.S. foreign policy appears to be shedding its Cold War blinders and tentatively aligning itself with the times: the U.S.'s nearly 50-year economic embargo of Cuba may soon finally end. Two key recent developments have signaled an end to the embargo.

As the global financial crisis shows us, free and open markets are great when everyone (or at least a majority of people) prospers, but they are less popular when people are hurting. Problems in the US housing market and banking system have filtered through our global financial web to cause one of the greatest recessions in modern history. Observers once predicted that our problems at home would only result in a hiccup abroad, a testament to the declining influence of the United States. They were wrong, however, and financial hardships in the US are turning into geopolitical nightmares.

On Monday, I attended "The Future of Trade and Economic Cooperation," an event put on by the CSIS Scholl Chair in International Business that featured Senator and former U.S. Trade Representative William Brock, Ambassador and former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Stuart Eizenstat, and Ambassador and former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills.

Today at CSIS, the Scholl Chair in International Business hosted a roundtable discussion on the 838 billion dollar economic package approved by the Senate this afternoon. You can listen to highlights from the "Smart Stimulus" event here. I went to listen and left after a few minutes. Not because I was bored or uninterested. I left as a symbol of what is going on with many people in our nation today.